The notion that technology equals freedom is a frequent trope, and was used frequently in the early days of the Arab Spring. As the Egyptian Google exec- slash Facebook activist Wael Ghomin put it “if you want to liberate a society, just give them the internet.” How the digital realm is governed, accessed, and controlled is one of the issues addressed in consent of the networked, a new book by longtime reporter Rebecca Mackinnon. For more than a decade, she’s been active in evolving debates about how the internet will affect democracy, privacy and individual liberties. The book urges citizens who use the internet to take an active role in insuring that new communications technologies be used for human liberation, rather than oppression. Rebecca is also co-founder of global voices, whose bloggers and editors have been featured on this program many times.
Consent of the Networked Review
Ted Talk Consent of the Networked Interview
The New York Times Op-Ed from Rebecca MacKinnon
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